Transcript The Maasai Warriors of Africa

The Maasai Warriors
of Africa
MAASAI WARRIOR BACKGROUND INFO
Ethnic Grouping: Plain / Eastern Nilotes
Location: The Rift Valley of Africa
Language: Native Maasai
Population: 377, 089
Social / Religious Customs: 75% Tradition.
25% Christian
Economic Activities: Nomadic Life,
& Herding, Livestock
ORIGINAL SETTLEMENTS
For centuries, the Maasai
Warriors and their tribe have
been struggling over land.
Although originally settled across
Kenya and Tanzania, today, their
lands have become more limited
to exclusively Kenya.
Down In Africa
Kenya, an African country on the coast of the Indian Ocean, is now where over 90% of
the current Maasai live
MORE MAASAI INFO
Of all African peoples, the Maasai are one of the best
known to the western world. Since they share their
territory with one of the greatest collections of wildlife
on earth, they have close contact with visitors who go
on safari in East Africa, and their distinctive dress,
weapons and bead jewelry are familiar from
magazines and travel brochures. They also have a
reputation as brave fighters who kept the slave trade at
bay and challenged early explorers. Yet today they are
having to struggle to keep their identity and what
remains of their land.
MAASAI HISTORY
The Maasai probably arrived in East Africa from the
north (some say the Nile valley) some time in the 15th
century A.D. Until the 19th century they dominated
the grass plains that stretch from lake Victoria Nyanza
east almost to the Indian ocean, and from the
highlands north of Nairobi south to the Maasai steppe
of Tanzania. But in the late 19th century cholera and
diseases affecting their cattle nearly wiped them out,
and the northern part of their land was taken over by
European settlers through treaties with the British
colonial administration.
CATTLE
‘Without the land and cattle, there will be no Maasai’
Tepilit ole Saitoti
The Maasai are above all cattle people; their herds are
central to their lives. They also keep sheep and goats, and
donkeys for transport. Milk is their everyday food, and in
times when food is scarce they also draw blood to drink
from the neck of a cow or an ox (a procedure from which
the animal soon recovers). Cattle are killed for meat only on
special occasions. Their old ideal was to live by their cattle
alone, and to buy any other good they needed. However,
today they also need to grow grain and other crops.
LIVESTOCK FARM INDUSTRY
Most of the area around the Maasai has
changed with the times but they would like to
keep their traditional ways. That is perfectly
understandable. However, in very recent
times many Maasai have wanted better
education for their children.
Using herding as their only form of economy is not going to cut it.
With the land they live on there is not many resources. However
there are other things that can be used to start businesses. Two
things that Kenya has an abundance of is land and cattle.
BUISNESS REP.
•Due to such a poor national economy, Kenya
has had to turn to the World Bank, and a
program of economic liberalization and reform
•Livestock trade is a world wide industry and
would enable Kenya to finally have a currency
which would actually be recognized and
acknowledged by the industrialized world
•With the money received, Kenya’s GNP would
go up and it would also enable them to have the
funds to give high salaries to the Maasai tribe
who could be trained to run the livestock farms,
and sell them to larger livestock trading
industries to be distributed worldwide
•This new source of income would enable the
Maasai to buy more technologically advanced
goods and farming equipment.
GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL
• The Maasai have a nice portion of this land
for their travels. Setting up an industrialized
live stock farming system, run by the Maasai
tribe, could supply other local areas of Kenya
with milk and meat
• With the money received from this new
industry, the government of Kenya would be
able to finance up to date schools, with up to
date teaching resources, for the people to
send their children to
• This new industry would allow the Maasai
people, and other native tribes of Africa to
keep their traditions, while still earning
modern salaries to increase their education
and standard of living.
ENVIRONMENTAL
ADVOCATE
• Many tribes in Kenya are nomadic, but setting up
concrete and unwavering employment opportunities for
these people would enable them to settle in one area.
This would prevent them from their practice of using up
one area’s agricultural resources and then moving on
when they are dried up.
• With the amount of cattle the Maasai people herd, and
that graze all over Kenya, it would in no way endanger
the survival of the animal.
• There are countless acres of deserted land in Kenya,
which could be used more efficiently to set up these
livestock farms. Due to this abundance of open land, no
environmental resource or natural inhabitant of the
country side would be put into danger or destroyed.
VOTE TO GIVE THE MAASAI
CHILDREN, THEIR TRIBE, & THE
PEOPLE OF KENYA A BETTER
EDUCATION AND TO FEED THE
STARVING PEOPLE OF THEIR TRIBE!